MONTANEZ CELEBRATES RETURN TO AFFILIATED BASEBALL WITH 4-FOR-5 GAME

One game cannot tell the full story, but another tuneup in Independent Baseball may be on its way to a successful ending in the affiliated game.

Outfielder Lou Montanez, who was in the major leagues for part of every season between 2008 and 2011 (Baltimore and the Chicago Cubs), had the first Independent stint of his 14-year professional career this season, and when he got back to the affiliated game on Thursday broke in with a 4-for-5 performance that included a home run, double, four RBI and three runs.

Montanez drove in 41 runs in 52 games for the Somerset (NJ) Patriots (Atlantic League) before the Los Angeles Angels purchased his contract and sent him to Arkansas (North Little Rock) of the Class AA Texas League.

“It was a blessing that the Angels saw something good in me in Independent ball and gave me the opportunity, the 31-year-old told MLB.com. “I’m grateful. It’s always good to start on a good foot. I can’t lie, I had a lot of nerves today, some anxiety, but good things happened and it worked out to my advantage.”

SINNERY’S ALL-STAR DEBUT

Right-handed pitcher Brandon Sinnery, whose pro career started in Independent Baseball and is in his first affiliated season in ’13, worked two-thirds of a scoreless inning (one hit) to help the East to a 6-5 Midwest League All-Star victory in Dayton, OH this week.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 170 pounds, the 23-year-old spent last season building a 9-2 record between Lincoln, NE (American Association) and London (Waterford, MI) of the Frontier League before Arizona signed him in the offseason. He is 4-2, 2.87, mostly as a starter, for South Bend, IN.

SECOND CHANCE IN SHORT PERIOD FOR STRIKEOUT KING

Mike Recchia got a short look in Baltimore’s minor league spring training camp this year after breaking the 20-year-old Frontier League record with 177 strikeouts and being named the league’s top pitcher last season for his 11-3, 2.51 campaign with Windy City (Crestwood, IL). He is getting another opportunity now after taking the lead in Frontier League strikeouts again with the ThunderBolts, this time with his contract purchased for the Chicago White Sox farm system.

Recchia was one of a trio of Frontier League players purchased by major league organizations for their farm systems this week.

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KENSING BACK IN MAJORS, KINNEY LIKELY ON THE WAY

One more former Independent Baseball player has made his way back onto an active major league roster, and it seems safe to say another one will be added any day now.

The new name is Logan Kensing, who has 134 major league appearances to his credit but not a single one since 2009 when he had time with both Florida and Washington. Kensing lost his major league status with shoulder woes, and ended up for a time in the Atlantic League (Bridgeport, CT) in ’11.

Colorado activated the soon-to-be 31-year-old Sunday after he had saved seven games for Triple-A Colorado Springs while posting an 0-1, 2.57 record. He is a combined 8-9 with two saves for his previous major league outings, which started with Florida in ’05.

The next name to watch for is longtime reliever Josh Kinney, who has yet to pitch for Seattle this season because of a stress reaction on the left side of his rib cage. Kinney, who started his professional career in the Frontier League (River City, O’Fallon, MO), made one rehab appearance with Tacoma May 17, then had to be shut down again, but he has thrown a shutout inning three times in the last week without even allowing a hit or a walk.

Meanwhile, the New York Mets have sent righty reliever Greg Burke, another who started in the Independent game (Atlantic City, NJ, Atlantic League), back to Triple-A Las Vegas for the second time this season.

RABEN GETS FIRST ROUND-TRIPPER IN ROYALS SYSTEM

I have been wanting to see what first baseman-outflelder Dennis Raben would do once he reported to Kansas City’s high-A farm club in Wilmington, DE after he had pounded 10 homers in only 23 games in the American Association (Lincoln, NE).

It took three games for Raben to hit one out in the Carolina League. The left-handed hitter is 4-for-14 (.286) for four games, and has a .375 on-base percentage. The other hits have been singles.

SHAWN HILL MUST BE BREATHING EASIER

The good news for Shawn Hill, who meteorically climbed from the York (PA) Revolution of the Atlantic League to one appearance for the Detroit Tigers last season, is that the Toledo Mud Hens have kept the right-hander in the starting rotation all season despite an 0-8 start.

That drought ended over the weekend when the 32-year-old, making his 15th start of the year, limited Syracuse to four hits and one run in seven innings to claim a victory. He is now at 1-8, 5.82 for Toledo.

THOSE DREADED RELEASES

Right-handed pitchers Andrew Aizenstadt (Wichita, KS, American Association) and Erik Arnesen (Somerset, NJ, Atlantic League) have been handed pink slips. Aizenstadt was in the Philadelphia organization, Arnesen with Oakland after starting the year with the Patriots.

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'NEARLY UNHITTABLE' NIX LEAVES SUGAR LAND FOR TRIPLE-A WHITE SOX OPPORTUNITY

 

So often we hear of pitchers having their career rescued when they move from starting to the bullpen and throw at a considerably faster speed.

It appears Michael Nix’s move the other direction to starting has given him a new lease to the point the Chicago White Sox just signed the 30-year-old right-hander from Sugar Land, TX (Atlantic League) and are sending him to Triple-A Charlotte.

York, PA Manager Mark Mason, who had Nix as closer with the Revolution two years ago, had told me a few days ago that Nix had “great fastball command” this season and that his “secondary pitches now are almost unhittable”. Nix had been used exclusively in relief at Auburn, for four years in the Atlanta Braves farm system plus Atlantic League stints at Newark and York until Sugar Land moved him into the rotation part way into last year.

Nix went 5-1 with an Atlantic League-best 1.81 earned run average in eight outings (seven starts) this season for Sugar Land, which could use his services for this weekend’s first place showdown at Somerset, NJ. He is the fourth Skeeters player signed by a major league organization in recent weeks.

NCAA SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL, NOW TIME OFF FOR ADAM AMIN

Talented broadcaster Adam Amin left the Somerset (NJ) Patriots for an ESPN job after doing Atlantic League games in 2010 and 2011, but he mentioned various Independent Baseball tie-ins when we chatted this week that have occurred since in his travels to broadcast college football and basketball as well as recent NCAA softball and baseball regional tournaments.

His partner last weekend for the baseball tournament in Tallahassee, FL was longtime Tennessee coach Rod Delmonico, whose son Tony is with Schaumburg, IL in the Frontier League although currently on the disabled list. Amin plans to do a few Boomers games on radio this summer to stay sharp while off from his ESPN duties. It so happens that friend Andy Viano is the team’s president and Schaumburg is an easy drive from his home in Chicago.

Amin was paired with Indy superscout Nick Belmonte in the Tallahassee regional last year, and a fellow ESPN voice is that of onetime quarterback Danny Kanell, who reminded Adam that he played in the Atlantic League at one time for Newark, NJ.

CROSSING PATHS

My week, as anyone who read Thursday’s Independent Baseball Insider knows, included a trip from Connecticut across the New York border to see the interleague skirmish between the host Rockland Boulders (Can-Am League) and the American Association’s St. Paul (MN) Saints. I ran into a trim and fit looking Marv Goldklang, the Saints’ chairman. He had back surgery a year or so ago, but said he is now back to running.

Another familiar face at the game was Kevin Winn, who supervises umpires in both of those leagues. He has had a busy past three weeks checking out his crews.

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